The Coin Still Turns
by DragonSeer
Summary: (Set after Defiance.) Histories long dead and forgotten are the most dangerous of creations, for they can have the most disastrous effects on an emperor, a god, or even an age-old war...
1. Default Chapter

(AN: No, I'm not dead, and yes, I will get to work on the BO2/TR and TR/SR stories. Right now my school life is eating up my free time, and I desperately needed something new and serious to work on. So tell me what you guys think and if I should just give up and go back to working on my other stories. ^_^ )

            Somewhere, a blade that can devour souls is imbued.

            Somewhere, a forgotten enemy crows with exaltation.

            Somewhere, an emperor emerges triumphant from the battle, but alone as ever before.

            Somewhere, the only being with answers is locked and hidden away, to fuel a cruel machine with his life.

            Somewhere, an eons old god plots his revenge.

            And somewhere, a broken memory from time before the war between Ancient and Hylden is about to be unleashed.

May the Dark Gods protect

those that unleash it.

An old being. A new confrontation.

The coin still turns.

            Set further in the mountains even than Malek's Bastion was a millennia-old temple, fashioned by the hands of the Ancients at the very beginning of the war. The fortress was small, only containing a few antechambers before stopping at a pair of monstrous double doors that had runes of warding and sealing carved in dancing patterns across them. Only one being inhabited the broken ruins: a vampire guardian, left with the knowledge of his Ancient creator, and ordered to guard the doors and let nothing open them.

            With the destruction of the Pillars, the Hylden had extended their reach, taking more bodies as their forms, and a collection had assaulted the temple, forcing the guardian to practice his near stagnant skills with a blade.

            "What do you hide here?" one of the Hylden murmured.

            The guardian stood before the double doors, acting as the last bastion against the Hylden. Broken, decrepit corpses littered the ground around the vampire's cloven feet, abandoned bodies left by the retreating Hyldens' spirits.

            "What is entombed here must stay undisturbed!" the vampire hissed, moving slightly into a guarding stance. The two remaining Hylden weighed their options carefully. The vampire was badly wounded, but they themselves weren't in the best of shape. They shared a nod and dashed to either side of the vampire, racing toward the door.

            "NO!" The guardian slid out of his stance and ran after them, grabbing one of the creatures, his claws viciously severing spinal cord and column. The other Hylden didn't hesitate, but grabbed the warding rune papers and ripped them down, its talons digging into the symbols carved into the door. A shudder ran through the fortress.

            "Fool!" The vampire snatched the Hylden away from the door and slammed it up against the wall, claws at its throat. Another shudder ran through the stone. The vampire glanced back at the doors, then released his hold and grabbed the Hylden's arm instead.

            "Come," he snarled. "Let me show you what you've unleashed upon us all."

            The Hylden snatched its arm out of the guardian's grip. The vampire didn't give it a second glance, and merely walked into a side room, ignoring the enemy as if it no longer mattered. The Hylden considered the change in the guardian's behavior and decided that perhaps fro the moment, it would be wiser to let its opponent survive. It cautiously followed him.

            Beyond the door was a small room with a single large crystal window. The vampire stopped in front of it and crossed his arms, oblivious to the drying Hylden blood on his claws. The Hylden hesitantly stopped at the crystal and looked out of it. Past it was a huge, almost cathedral-like structure. At the far end was a cylindrical pod, leaned back so it was slightly at an angle. Carved lines in the stone centered on it and streaked away to form runes all over the walls, ceiling and floor. Each was glowing softly and the luminescence slid down the lines to end behind the pod. A final rumble ran through the temple and the Hylden and vampire watched as the pod shivered and a line broke its smooth surface. A part of it much like a lid slid back and up, and a cloud of what looked like silvery mist slid out. A moment of silence and stillness passed before a shadow shifted ever so slightly within the creation.

            The vampire shook his head sadly.

            A form sat up from the pod. The Hylden's stolen eyes narrowed.

            "What is that?"

            The creature slid out of the pod to land unsteadily before the object. The being was a woman, dressed in simple, skin-tight clothing, had a visor over her eyes, and a pair of shackles on both her wrists.

            "Do you see the metal around her arms?" the vampire inquired calmly.

            "Dark steel, correct?" the Hylden queried in answer

            "The strongest metal in existence. Nothing can break it. Watch her."

            The woman seemed to look around, though the visor appeared to blind her, and then twisted her face, the faceplate visor making it obvious, toward the shackles. She pulled at them, stopped a moment, and then stretched her arms apart. The metal links straightened and stopped her movement. The female cocked her head to the side as if confused by this, and then appeared to gather her strength and pull. An audible shriek of pressured metal sounded, and the links snapped. The Hylden's eyes widened.

            "What in all that is pain is she?!"

            The vampire steepled his claws and bowed his head.

            "She is a creature that was locked away thousands of years ago."

            He looked like he would have said something else, but the female twisted suddenly and moved her faceplate straight toward the two. She threw her hand out toward them and black, shadowy tentacles slashed through the air to engulf the crystal in blackness. The vampire let out a muffled curse and raced out of the room as the sound of crystal breaking filled it. The Hylden decided that following the vampire out of the danger zone would be prudent, as its senses were telling it that this… creature was far more dangerous than the vampire. The vampire slammed the door shut behind him and leaned on it, trying to keep the vile powers that had sought them inside.

            In the cathedral, the woman reached up to the faceplate and calmly pushed it up, showing a pale face, with eyes shut. Ebony black hair reached down to her thighs, and was marred only by the front bangs, a resounding, vibrant purple. She opened her eyes to reveal golden amber irises, but pupils in the shape of an etched out X. Her eyebrows knitted together in annoyance.

            "What is that thing?" the Hylden demanded, eyes darting to the double doors.

            "Something so powerful and dangerous, all the Hylden and Ancients agreed to lock it away. That is why I guarded this place, and why only a Hylden could start the awakening process." The vampire met the gaze of his enemy, knowing that the Hylden was far better than what two doors kept from him.

            "What do we do?"

            The double doors gave a resounding crack as both fell out and away from the center and their hinges. Beyond it, a heavily accented female voice carried clear and loud as a bell in pure silence.

            "Oh boys… You've been _very_ naughty."

            "Do?" the vampire answered the Hylden softly, a ironic laugh escaping him. "We die, that's what we do."

(A/N: So, what do you guys think? And before you get all paranoid and go 'oh boy, here she goes off with another pairing,' I actually have no intention of any pairings happening. Any pairings that happen will be due to you guys, the reviewers, saying if you like any, don't like the ones currently happening, or what have you. You guys get to take an active hand in how the story shapes. Yay! ^_^ Anyway, drop me a line and tell me what you think, kay?)


	2. Seeking

            Roars of anger and screams of pain echoed between the wood and stone of the houses. The streets were nearly alive with people, wounded and dead, fallen weapons, and blood. Demons ripped through throngs of mortals while human warriors felt their blades rebound and shatter upon hard scales and thick skin.

            She found the town in utter disorder and chaos. She stood at the edge, looking around with a dispassionate expression. A slight twinge at the corner of her mouth indicated a smile. This death and destruction pleased her. She willed herself to be unseen and walked through the battleground slowly, her eyes swallowing the pandemonium as if it was her life's blood. When she reached the other end of the hamlet, a slinking feeling of disappointment crept through her, but she continued on.

            She wanted to know where and when she was.

            This wasn't the world she had been born in. It wasn't the world she had tried to save. And it certainly wasn't the world she had attempted to destroy.

            Once the battle was behind her, the land opened up into rolling hills, greenery that was touched with just the first hint of death. She paused, feeling the energy of the world around her. The planet felt tired. It was an unusual emotion for an earth to possess; most fought tooth and nail against an inevitable demise. But this one felt like it had long accepted its end as a fact. That should have disturbed her, but it didn't. It just meant it would be easier to end the suffering.

            She moved on.

            Another settlement loomed before her, this one stone and brick, with an outer wall, indicating it as a permanent home for people. There were no signs of battle here, but she could hear a ruckus coming from within. A tap on the stone was all that was needed to open a passageway she could traverse. It was just simpler than having to deal with the guards at the gates.

            She made no effort to hide herself as she walked into the town square to find innumerable humans surrounding a guillotine and shouting. The mortals around the edges glanced at her and then stared, shocked by her appearance. She ignored them and continued toward the center, a wave of silence peaked at her approach. At the guillotine was a man who wore a cloak and leaned heavily upon a staff depicting a snake devouring the crystal on the top of it. Beside him, head placed on the base of the guillotine, was a green-skinned creature she sensed held the Curse. She stopped a few meters from them, and both males' eyes were drawn to her. She focused on the creature, weighing him with her eyes. He felt extremely young in comparison to her age, but he was centuries older than all the others here. Strangely, though, the human beside him was near his age. She chose to pay no attention to him; she had had enough of mortals long ago.

            "You. Who was your sire?"

            The mortal waved a hand to another human holding the drop cord, causing the latter to place the rope aside and step away.

            "Leave quickly, child, before you are in my place!" the being yelled out to her, struggling. The old human waved the staff toward him fearlessly as the crystal began to glow.

            "Cease in your moving, _creature_," the mortal hissed with true hatred and disgust in his voice. He turned to her and walked down the steps toward her, a curiously calculating expression on his face. Closer up, she noted silently the milky film that seemed to cover his eyes and the infinity symbol that ran across his forehead down to the bridge of his nose.

            "And who might you be?"

            She eyed him for a moment, then turned back to the creature. "Is it this human who has captured you here?"

            "It is, my Lady," the immortal responded politely, aware of how dangerous his situation had just become. The woman passed the mortal with the staff and walked toward the platform, fixing her gaze on the human who had once been holding the drop cord.

            "Release him."

            The flat tone held the slightest touch of power, subverting the human's ability to say no. The mortal quickly pulled the green-skinned creature up from his place and unbound the shackles that held the being. His eyes then widened as he realized what he had done and fell stumbling off the platform to the human masses below. The creature turned back to the female.

            At the same moment, she twisted back to see the old human's expression had changed to one of fury and he had moved toward her. The staff tipped down toward her and she narrowed her eyes as the crystal began to glow brightly.

            "You are a vampire as well," the mortal hissed. She opened her eyes again, glaring at him as she felt the crowd's emotion beginning to turn dark. She could feel the power that radiated from the staff, old, eons old, but nowhere strong enough to affect her. She reached forward, placing her hand on the staff, and in front of his horrified eyes, she crushed the crystal.

            "Never call me that again. I am no vampire."

            The human dropped the now useless staff and quickly scrambled back, out of her range.

            "Then you must be a demon, surely! No human could ever destroy my staff."

            She walked up to him, letting her face stay within an inch of his, as she answered, "I never said I was human."

            She pulled away as the human shifted around her. For the first time, she took notice that they wielded torches and pitchforks like any common mob would. She could feel the anger beginning to grow, and knew instantly the moment it would peak into violence. She planned to cause it before they did. She turned toward the human who had fallen off the guillotine platform. He tried to dart away, but she moved with inhuman speed and touched his shoulder gently. He let out a whimper and scuttled away from her. She walked away, but everyone's attention was drawn to the human as he began to cough and choke. He fell to his knees as a bit of blood began to splatter from between his lips, as if his lungs were filling up with it. He let out another hacking cough before slipping to the ground, no longer breathing.

            Before anyone could react, the female pulled her head back and spat blood at another of the humans. Where it connected with skin, a hissing sound began as it ate into the mortal's flesh and began corroding the bone underneath. She fell screaming as the unnamed female closed her eyes and smirked.

            Suddenly, there was a cacophony of sound and movement. People were abruptly running toward the inhuman woman to kill her, while others were screaming in fear and dashing away.

            She saw all this and smiled, an honestly pleased smile. She hadn't done it in a while. It felt good.

            Half the human populace continued to run away. She wasn't going to let that happen, and concentrated an instant, feeling the ripples of the air. Moments later, thunderclouds rumbled ominously above in a sky that had been clear moments before. Lighting arced down to slam into the ground in front of the humans. More spikes shot down to join the first as they collected into a wall of lighting that surrounded the town. Even the humans who had been going to try to kill her hesitated, looking at the unnatural event. Her smile widened.

            "Now, I couldn't let you all leave. Where would the fun be in that?" her accented voice purred out. All eyes turned to her, fear and anger the most dominant emotion, and she raised an arm toward the sky. Fire, bright and glowing in the cloud-covered dark, sprang from her fingers to envelop her entire arm. She brought it back down, and turned in a circle, bringing her arm down in a clean, slashing arc. Flames spewed from her fingertips, greedily grabbing anything available for them to feed on, wood, plant life, clothes, even hair and people themselves. Running bodies spread the fire until buildings caught it. She turned back to the creature and the old human, the two whom she had been careful not to touch. They both stared at her in horror, as if she had done something neither of them would have ever considered doing.

            "You. Who are you?" she asked the green-skinned being. He seemed to resist against an expression and bowed instead.

            "I am Vorador."                                                                          

            "Good. Come. I have questions." She turned and walked calmly away through the destruction. The being and the mortal exchanged a look in which all former hatred for the other was momentarily forgotten. This woman was deadly, and much more dangerous than either of them could ever be.

            After a moment, the human teleported away. Vorador considered doing the same, but realized that as dangerous as she was, he was very curious as to what the creature striding away from him was. She claimed not to be a vampire, but some of the powers she demonstrated seemed like highly advanced vampiric abilities. He hesitated a moment longer, than followed her.


End file.
